Author: Karakhanian Suren

Issues that Can Disunite Armenians Should Be Avoided
PanARMENIAN.Net
20.09.2006 15:30 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenia-Diaspora relations are a priority
for Armenia, RA President Robert Kocharian said at the third
Armenia-Diaspora Forum. In his words, the forum has become an
unexampled event from the viewpoint of the items discussed and the
number of participants. “The Armenia-Diaspora relations are a priority
especially taking into account the process of globalization. With
joint efforts Armenia, Diaspora and the Armenian Church can build a
state we can be proud of,” the President said.
At that he remarked that the further directions of relations between
Armenia and Diaspora for the next several years were determined. “This
forum is a unique representative body of the Armenianhood. However,
it’s premature to give any assessment to it. The speeches and proposals
of the participants will be systematized and laid into the basis of
the further activities of the Armenian government. We should create
a unified field of activities and avoid any issue that can disunite
Armenians,” Robert Kocharian said, reported newsarmenia.ru

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
AGBU Karabakh Repopulation Project Opens School in Norashen and Begins Construction of Jrakn Village
On September 11, 2006, the opening ceremony of the new Norashen School
took place in Karabakh’s Hadrut region. With 32 pupils enrolled, the
elementary school, designed to accommodate 80 students, has eight
classrooms, one event hall, a teacher’s lounge and a principal’s
office. The official ribbon cutting was followed by the groundbreaking
ceremony of the nearby village of Jrakn, which was destroyed during
the war and is situated 200 meters away from Norashen. Both initiatives
are part of AGBU’s Karabakh Repopulation Project, which was initiated
in 2002 and has been helping to rebuild the war-torn villages that
remain abandoned following the 1988 to 1994 conflict with Azerbaijan.
Among the honored guests were AGBU representatives and Karabakh
authorities, including: Karabakh President, Arkady Ghoukassian; Deputy
Prime Minister, Ararat Danielian; Minister of Education, Culture
and Sport, Kamo Atayan; Minister of Territorial Administration and
Development of Industrial Infrastructures, Armo Tsaturian; Migration,
Refugees and Repopulation Department Head, Pavel Nadjarian; Head of
Hadrut Administration, Valery Gevorkian; AGBU Central Board Member,
Levon Kebabdjian; and AGBU Armenia Representation Director, Ashot
Ghazarian.
President Ghoukassian underscored the importance of such projects,
expressing his gratitude to all AGBU donors and supporters who are
committed to the reconstruction of Karabakh. “For many years now, AGBU
has been carrying out programs in Karabakh. Always standing by our
side, the Union, together with us, is facilitating the repopulation
of Karabakh. This must serve as an example to other organizations,”
he said.
Students welcomed the guests and thanked the donors that made it all
possible with a speech of gratitude. Sitting on the school bench of
the newly refurbished classroom, 13-year-old Khachik Hoveyan exuded
happiness and satisfaction. “I could have never imagined that I would
attend such a beautiful school. I have decided to study a lot, become
a doctor and come to work in the medical center of Norashen to help
my fellow villagers,” Khachik said.
The event was widely covered by local and Armenian mass media. At
the end of the ceremony, AGBU representatives presented the school
children with bags filled with school supplies, ensuring that students
have the proper tools to pursue their education.
The construction of the Norashen School is part of AGBU’s Karabakh
Repopulation Project, and AGBU’s Southern Californian District
Committee and Sydney Chapter, which contributed nearly $90,000 to
the project, financed the facility. AGBU Toronto also donated to the
project and AGBU Young Professional Groups raised the funds to help
furnish the institution. Additional financial support came directly
from private AGBU donors.
“The village was reborn before our eyes with a kindergarten, a
medical center and now a school. Thanks to AGBU, our village lives
and flourishes. I am very grateful both as a teacher and as a local
resident,” said Nuara Gevorkian, the only school teacher from Norashen.
The reconstruction of Norashen, located about 45 miles southeast
of Stepanakert, began in 2001. The village has 22 houses, and the
infrastructure of Norashen will also serve the neighboring Jrakn
village, which was initiated by AGBU Central Board member Michael
Ansour. Planned in two stages, the construction of the first 10 houses
will be finished by the first quarter of 2007. Another 10 houses will
be built by summer 2008.
Established in 1906, AGBU () is the world’s largest
non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City
with an annual budget of $34 million, AGBU preserves and promotes
the Armenian identity and heritage through educational, cultural and
humanitarian programs, annually serving some 400,000 Armenians in
35 countries.

VATICAN: POPE’S VISIT TO TURKEY TAKES SHAPE
AKI, Italy
Sep-19-2006 09:04 am
Istanbul, 18 Sept. (AKI) – As Benedict XVI’s controversial remarks
linking Islam and violence continue to reverberate around the Muslim
world, his planned three-day visit to Turkey at the end of November
has begun to take shape. The schedule of the visit is not yet clear,
but the pope’s fist meeting is expected to be with Turkey’s president,
Ahmet Necdet Sezer – who invited him to visit.
During the 28-30 November visit – his first to the overwhelmingly
Muslim country since becoming pope in April last year – the pontiff
is also expected to visit the site of Virgin Mary’s alleged tomb
at Ephesus, near the western coastal city of Izmir. From there he
will travel to Istanbul to attend on 30 November the Saint Andres
feast in the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Church and to meet with the
Orthodox patriarch Bartholomeos and Armenian patriarch, Mesrob II –
the two leaders of Turkey’s Christian community.
It is not yet clear whether the Pope will meet with the head of
the Turkish Religious Directorate, (the country’s highest religious
institution), Ali Bardakoglu. Directorate officials are allegedly
saying that if a ‘religious’ meeting is scheduled to be held
during Benedict XVI’s visit, it should take place in the Religious
Directorate’s headquarters in Ankara. If the meeting is deemed a
‘political’ one however, the Religious Directorate officials will
not attend.
Muslims (mostly Sunnis) form an estimated 99.8 percent of Turkey’s 70
million population, while Christians and Jews account for 0.2 percent.

Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English
14 Sep 06
Turkish, French foreign ministers discuss Armenian genocide claims,
Iran
Paris, 14 September: Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul debated
so-called Armenian genocide allegations, Iran and Afghanistan during
his working dinner with his French counterpart Philippe Douste-Blazy
last night, diplomats said today.
According to diplomatic sources, Gul expressed Turkey’s concerns
about the resolution, submitted to the French parliament by the
Socialist Party, which considers denial of so-called Armenian
genocide claims a crime.
Gul asked Douste-Blazy whether or not bringing this resolution, which
will totally restrict freedom of expression and thought, to the
French parliament is a dilemma when EU countries call on Turkey to
abolish the Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.
Recalling Turkey’s proposal to set up a joint commission of
(Turkish-Armenian) historians to deal with this matter, Gul said that
experts from other countries, including France, can also join this
commission.
Gul stated that these calls of Turkey remain unanswered, and added:
“We will never accept any moves aiming to make a historical matter a
political one.”
On the other hand, Turkish and French foreign ministers said that
their countries do not want to increase the number of troops they
have sent to Afghanistan.
Douste-Blazy briefed Gul on EU member’s proposal to Iran, and
expressed their concern that Tehran did not respond to it.
Gul’s meeting with Balladur
FM Gul later met Edouard Balladur, the head of the French
Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, and debated Turkey’s EU
membership bid, Cyprus and Lebanon.
Balladur said that they have always seen Turkey in EU vision, but
noted that the Union has to make some institutional reforms before a
new wave of enlargement.
On the other hand, Gul said that Turkish government is open to
criticisms regarding Turkey’s EU membership bid.
Noting that [self-declared] TRNC’s [Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus] economic isolation has not been ended despite the promises,
Gul said that Turkey cannot open its ports and airports to Greek
Cypriot ships and planes unless isolation of TRNC is ended.
Regarding developments in Lebanon, Balladur expressed France’s
willingness to host an international conference to resolve problems
in Lebanon and welcomed Turkish government’s decision to send troops
to Lebanon.
Gul also had talks with senators
Meanwhile, during the working lunch he had with members of the French
parliament’s EU Follow-Up Group and French-Turkish Friendship Group,
Gul discussed bilateral relations, Turkey’s EU membership bid, and
regional and international topics.
Gul also interviewed with LCI news channel and leading French daily
Le Monde today.
FM Gul will depart from Paris after participating in a conference on
“Turkey-EU relations” at the French Institute of International
Relations (IFRI) tonight.

National Post, Canada
Sunday, September 17, 2006

Harper leaps into the foreign policy pond
Mike Blanchfield, CanWest News Service Published: Saturday, September
16, 2006 OTTAWA – Stephen Harper had every intention of spending his
first hours over the Atlantic Ocean as Canada’s new prime minister
squirrelled away in the front of his government Airbus poring over his
briefing books, to prepare for upcoming meetings with Britain’s Tony
Blair, and his first major summit, the Group of Eight in Russia.
But, as he soon found out, a troubled world does not allow its leaders
such luxuries.
Just before Harper’s plane took off, Israeli bombs tore up the runway
of Beirut International Airport and a new war was breaking out in the
Middle East — something Harper could not ignore.
Harper soon found himself in a familiar pose of travelling prime
ministers: commenting on a world gone wrong to the journalists at the
back of his plane. He voiced unwavering support for Israel in its
quest to rescue two of its soldiers, kidnapped days earlier along the
Lebanese-Israeli border by the Hezbollah terrorist group. Harper said
Israel had a right to defend itself, and that it had shown a “measured
response” in its attack on Lebanon.
For many, Canada’s 22nd prime minister had redefined his country’s
position towards the intractable Middle East conflict by showing such
clear support for one side of the conflict over the other. Harper was,
quite literally, making foreign policy on the fly.
For all his efforts to focus his agenda on five domestic priorities,
Harper was forced to face a sixth, one that comes with the job of
being prime minister: defining Canada’s role of the world.
So far, Harper has offered no grand sweeping vision of Canadian
foreign policy. There have been clues and fragments, some more obvious
than others: the military mission in Afghanistan and the need to
support our allies in the war on terrorism, especially the United
States; the need to strengthen that relationship with Washington after
years of tension under the Chretien and Martin Liberals and his
unequivocal support of Israel in the Middle East.
Along the way, he has lashed out at Iran, snubbed China, recognized
the Armenian genocide thus angering NATO-ally Turkey, and his was one
of the first western countries to cut aid to the Palestinian
Authority, after the stunning election victory of the Hamas terrorist
organization in January.
Overall, this has made Jews and Americans, in particular, quite fond
of Harper, while Arabs, Muslims and peace-loving, war-loathing
Quebecers who kicked the Conservative party’s tires during the last
federal election are getting their backs up.
Former Liberal foreign affairs minister John Manley — who was an
outspoken U.S. supporter when he held the portfolio at the time of the
9/11 attacks — says Harper has hurt himself in Quebec because of his
foreign policy shift on the Middle East.
Manley said he was pleasantly surprised by how well Harper’s rookie
minority government had been performing — until the Middle East
reared its head, forcing Harper to react.
“When you venture into foreign policy shifts, you want to be really,
really sure that you understand how you got to where we were,” says
Manley. “It wasn’t a Liberal policy on the Middle East. It was a
Canadian policy, and the policy that I was responsible for as foreign
minister was in every significant respect the same that it was when
Joe Clark was the foreign minister for Brian Mulroney.”
Manley says Harper has broken the most important rule of Canadian
foreign policy: don’t get too close to the U.S. and don’t get too far
away from the U.S.
“That’s unpopular with a lot of Canadians, especially unpopular in
Quebec where they hoped to get their majority. I think the war is
unpopular in Quebec. All wars have been unpopular in Quebec,” says
Manley.
“On the Middle East and Canada-U.S. relations, they kind of plunged in
with gut reactions before really fully understanding what the delicate
balances were.”
But, changing the way Canada operates in the world is not a bad thing,
according to the experts. How you do it, though, is important.
“There are certainly the ingredients there to articulate a policy
framework that would resonate for Canadians,” says Fen Hampson,
director of the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs at
Ottawa’s Carleton University.
“We’re missing a policy. A policy that is one that sets clear goals
and strategies, has conceptual underpinnings that explain why we’re
doing certain things.”
Hampson says Harper’s take on the world could best be defined as “high
principled multilateralism” because of the close ties he is fostering
with the U.S. through fighting the war on terror in Afghanistan.
Hampson gives Harper an A for his management of Canada-U.S. relations,
resuscitating it after the rampant anti-Americanism of the Liberals
under Jean Chretien and Paul Martin effectively silenced Ottawa’s
voice in Washington.
But, pumping money into the military and making speeches about how
Canada stands with its number one ally and neighbour fighting
terrorism in Afghanistan does nothing to address other issues such as
how he views the massive economies of China and India, or what Canada
really thinks of the United Nations these days, let alone navigating
the political minefield of the Middle East.
“For the rest of the world: C minus,” Hampson says.
“He has to look at his other subjects if you want to use the report
card analogy. He’s still got a lot of homework to do.”
**** That work continues this week when Harper gives his first major
speech at the United Nations General Assembly. He will follow that by
hosting Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Ottawa. During his short
televised address last week on the fifth anniversary of the 9/11
attacks, Harper gave indications he supports the UN, reminding
Canadians their troops are serving on a NATO mission in Afghanistan
under the authority of the world body.
But Harper has given no indication he wants Canada to be a major
player in UN reform, and he’s not one to go around spouting the
“responsibility to protect” doctrine Martin was so passionate about,
especially when it came to helping the war-ravaged people of Sudan’s
Darfur region.
Some say Harper has also given short shrift to the epic humanitarian
disaster in Darfur.
“Paul Martin took on personally the role of moving Canada into the
dossier of Darfur,” says Liberal Senator Romeo Dallaire, the retired
general who headed the UN’s ill-fated mission to Rwanda that was
ignored and understaffed and was powerless to stop the 1994 genocide
there that cost 800,000 lives.
In Darfur, a three-year-old conflict that has displaced upwards of two
million people and claimed at least 200,000 lives, Canada committed
about 100 armoured personnel carriers as part of a commitment of about
$210,000, a pledge that that includes $40,000 Harper added in May.
But Dallaire says that since taking power in February, Harper has
dropped the ball on Darfur, silencing Canada as a major international
player, which included playing an active role in hammering out the
shaky Darfur peace agreement in Abuja, Nigeria.
Allan Rock, Canada’s ambassador to the UN and an active Darfur
advocate, has since moved on. And Harper sacked the Darfur advisory
team that Martin had created that included Dallaire, fellow
Sen. Mobina Jaffer and former UN ambassador Robert Fowler.
“Unceremoniously, sometime in February we were simply dumped by the
current government, no thank you, no nothing, just we don’t need you
anymore. I’m sitting there with all this information, possibly advice,
and I’m still waiting for somebody to call,” says Dallaire, an author
and activist who has a stellar international reputation as an Africa
advocate.
Dallaire said he offered his services to the new government in a
45-minute meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay several
months ago — and that’s the last he’s heard from the government.
“Certainly the information I am getting from staff is that Africa is
not very much in the target area of this government’s foreign policy,”
says Dallaire, who has continuing contacts with the Canadian
International Development Agency, Foreign Affairs and the Defence
Department
And that, says Dallaire, is an abandonment of a major foreign policy
priority considering that African development was the main subject of
Canada’s 2002 chairmanship of the Group of Eight, not to mention the
hard work that was taking place behind the scenes with Darfur.
“On the political side, we were in Abuja, we were pushing the
belligerents, pushing the yardsticks in New York. We had Allan Rock
there, all working in a leadership role,” says Dallaire.
Harper has also managed to snub and anger the world’s fastest growing
economy — China — first by taking a broad public swipe by accusing
them of fostering economic espionage in Canada, and then by ignoring
them; as of last week, the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa was still waiting
for the their first meeting with MacKay.
China is not used to being treated that way. Chretien made building
economic ties with Beijing a cornerstone of his foreign policy,
something Martin carried on. The Liberals were accused of doing this
at the expense of human rights.
But Harper has swung the pendulum back the other way — too far, says
Hampson.
It is simply not in Canada’s long-term interest given its high-level
of immigration and growing trade with China “to build a policy on
single pillar, the human rights pillar.”
And, Harper has also managed to alienate Canadian Arabs and Muslims
with his vocal support of the Israeli military’s attack on Lebanon in
an attempt to crush the Hezbollah militia.
A recent poll commissioned by the National Council on Canada-Arab
Relations found that one-third of those surveyed believe Harper
favours Israelis over Arabs.
The same poll, conducted by SES Research, also found that 54 per cent
said they would consider changing their vote in the next election
based on the government’s policy towards the Middle East.
“It quite well may be that foreign policy may play a significant role
in the dynamic of the next federal election,” said SES President Nik
Nanos.
Ottawa Citizen

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PROPOSES CONCEPT PAPER ON KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT
Panorama.am
16:34 14/09/06
A presentation of the book “Ways of Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement” took place at the National Assembly today. It is a
collection of speeches and relating documents on Karabakh conflict
settlement prepared by NA standing committee on foreign affairs.
Armen Rustamyan, committee head, said the book also comprises
conclusions drafted by the committee.
Tigran Torosyan, NA speaker, welcomed the publication of the
book saying, “Political forces have had the chance to formulate a
comprehensive approach.” Foreign Minister Oskanyan also praised the
book saying “honest and brave opinions are shared.”

MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT CONGRATULATES KOCHARIAN ON ARMENIA’S INDEPENDENCE 15TH ANNIVERSARY
PanARMENIAN.Net
13.09.2006 17:24 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin has sent a
telegram to Armenian President Robert Kocharian, congratulating on the
Independence Day of the country. The message says, “Let me frankly and
sincerely congratulate you on the national holiday – the Independence
Day of the Republic of Armenia. I am sure that traditional relations
of friendship and mutually favorable cooperation between our countries
will further strengthen and dynamically develop for the interest and
favor of the people of Moldova and Armenia.”
The Moldovan President wished health and good luck in realizing all
strivings to Kocharian. He wished peace, prosperity and welfare to
the Armenian people, reports RIA Novosti.

OSCE BELIEVES PROGRESS IN KARABAKH ISSUE POSSIBLE BEFORE YEAREND
PanARMENIAN.Net
13.09.2006 14:17 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ OSCE Minsk Group mediators have set an exact task
of resuming the talks. “They believe that it is still possible to
make some additional progress before the end of this year or before
our parliamentary elections [due early next year] at the latest,”
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian told RFE/RL. In his words,
the mediators are trying to arrange a meeting of the Armenian and
Azerbaijani foreign ministers as soon as possible. Oskanian noted
that there are two major issues: firstly, the core problems over the
principles in the document on the bargaining table should be revealed
in order to focus on these. Secondly, the problem of deviation from
the course of the talks by Azerbaijan.
Touching upon the possible meeting of Armenian and Azeri Presidents
in Minsk at the CIS Leaders’ Summit on October 17, Oskanian said,
“Speaking of it is still early,” indicating that the time for
speaking about it will be only after the meeting of the Ministers,
“the meeting of the Presidents should be held only in case there are
more real opportunities for attaining additional progress.”
The possible meeting of Armenian and Azeri FMs was also a
point discussed at the meeting with the co-chairs, Oskanian
informed. “However, the terms were too preliminary,” he added. “The
next place, where we will possibly be, is New York. We will be there,
we will take part in the UN GA session. I do not rule out that if
the co-chairs decide and we agree, we will meet in New York. However,
there is not concrete communication yet,” Oskanian stated.

IRANIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER ATTENDED MEMORIAL TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS
PanARMENIAN.Net
11.09.2006 15:38 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The delegation of the Iranian Mejlis led by
chairman Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel laid a wreath to the Memorial to the
Armenian Genocide victims. The Iranian parliamentary delegation is in
Yerevan by invitation of Armenian National Assembly Speaker Tigran
Torosian. During the visit Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel is scheduled to
meet with Armenian President Robert Kocharian, Prime Minister Andranik
Margaryan and NA Speaker Tigran Torosian. He is also expected to meet
with the teaching staff and students of the Yerevan State University
and attend the Blue Mosque in Yerevan, reported newsarmenia.ru.

8 OF 16 DELEGATES OF ARMENIA START EUROPEAN CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP WITH VICTORY
Noyan Tapan
Sept 11 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 11, NOYAN TAPAN. The European Youth Chess
Championship started in the city of Herzeg Novi on September 10. From
16 delegates of Armenia, Tigran Haroutiunian (10), Robert Aghasarian
and Zohrak Apresian (12), Samvel Ter-Sahakian (14), Aghasi Inants
(16) among boys and Susanna Gaboyan (10), Marine Gevorgian (12)
and Shoushanna Sargsian (14) among girls had victories at the first
stage. Meetings of the second stage are held on September 11.